French Guiana

FRENCH GUIANA

A. THE COUNTRY

The Department of French Guiana, Latin America, is a sparsely inhabited
jungle territory in northeast South America.  Almost half of the
population lives in the suburbs surrounding the main city, Cayenne,
located in the developed coastal strip area.  France heavily subsidizes
the economy, so there is little incentive for independence.  A launch
facility for the European Space Agency is a major source of income.
Tourism is a potential growth industry.  Main exports are gold, shrimp,
fish and forest products. Illegal immigration and people trafficking
through gold mining and the workers needed for that industry is
impossible to police.

B. THE PEOPLE

The population is ~232,000 and the official language French; Guianese
French Creole is widely spoken.
~62% are African Caribbean, ~15.1% European, ~12.2% Asian, ~5.5% South
American, ~3.2% Afro-American Maroon, ~2% Amerindian.
Unemployment is high, especially among young people, which leads, in
turn, to disillusionment and unrest.

C. RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIANITY/PENTECOSTALISM

~91.25% claim to be Christian, ~2.65% Non-religious, 2.1%
Ethnoreligionist, ~1.8% Muslim, ~0.9% Sikh, ~0.9% Chinese, ~0.4%
Baha’i.
In the Christian category:
~75.66% are Catholic, ~6.91% Unaffiliated, ~5.77% Protestant, ~1.01%
Independent, ~0.04% Anglican.
Evangelicals represent ~4.5% of the population.
Charismatics represent ~5.3% and of those ~1.9% are Pentecostals.

Donna Siemens

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org

Operation World, Jason Mandryk. Colorado Springs: Biblica Publishing, 2010.